Whole new network advice!!

[JATownes]

This is going to be a little long winded and I will need some serious advice. My boss received authorization for a government grant yesterday to redo our network. I am an Escrow Officer for a Title Insurance Agency and also run our network. Let me explain the purpose for the upgrade. We insure title to Real Estate and spend ALOT of time researching records in the courthouse. We want to digitize all of the courthouse records to have them in house. I have accomplished this for all records from 1987 forward (about 270,000 documents averaging 6pgs per document). Our counties records (Yoakum County, Texas) go back to 1898 and we want all of them digitized. (ALOT of DATA!!!) The pertinent information is gathered from these documents (i.e. Grantor, Grantee, Legal Description, Mineral Reservations, Overriding Royalty Interest, etc.) then input into a database using workstation 1 (hence the dual screens) so we can quickly research a title without leaving the office.

Needless to say this a VERY time consuming process (~18 months for 87-present). We have been approved for a $100K grant. We will be using $50K to hire 2 employees for scanning and data entry, and the other $50K for the new network. (needless to say...This gets me VERY excited.) I have 2 months to get a list of components we need for the upgrade. Obviously we do not need powerhouses as we do not game, though an i7 server would be VERY KEWL!!

Here is what I have now:

In the office:
AMD X2-4200 (939), 2gb DDR400, 2x500Gb Raid 1, Integrated Graphics (Server);
Vostro 410 Desktop (Core2Duo) with 2600xt to 2 19" HannsG monitors (Workstation 1);
AMD X2-3800 (939), 2GB DDR400, 1x250Gb, ATI 3650 (Workstation 2);
Vostro 1500 Laptop, Core2Duo, 2GB Ram, Nvidia 8600M(Workstation 3);
Vostro 1500 Laptop, Core2Duo, 2GB Ram, Nvidia 8600M(Workstation 4);
Panasonic KXP-1124 Dot Matrix to Server through LPT1 (Needed to print carbon checks, required by the Texas Dept of Insurance for an Escrow Account);
HP LaserJet 4000TN to Server through LPT2;
HP LaserJet 4000N to Workstation 2 through LPT1;
Panasonic KXP-1124 Dot Matrix to Workstation 2 through LPT2;
1 Canon Imagerunner 2200 through RJ45 jack into the switch;
1 640Gb External for daily backup;
1 640Gb External for weekly backup (kept in safety deposit box)
APC Battery system for the server.
(All printers and scanners/copiers are shared)

At the courthouse:
AMD X2 3800 (939), 2GB DDR400, 1x250Gb, Integrated Graphics, Generic 15" Monitor
1 Canon Imagerunner 2200 direct connected to above desktop linked to office through VPN

Here is what I need. I need a server with enough HD space to store all the data, and enough juice under the hood for all workstations to access data without any lag time. I want to replace ALL of this, i.e new copiers/scanners, printers, workstations, laptops, etc. Obviously I will be building all of the workstations but for the laptops I am sick of Dells (thought the Vostro 1500s have been very good to us). New copiers run ~$10K each so that takes a CHUNK of the budget. I am looking for this to be upgradable in the future (I thought the 939 would do this...:banghead:)

So basically I need 2 new copiers/scanners with network capability, 2 Dotmatrix printers, 2 Laser printers (I prefer HP), 1 server, 3 desktop workstations, 2 laptops, a new wireless router capable of handling all of this, and dual monitors for Workstation 1, and a BEEFY battery system for the server.

I have 2 months to get this together, and as all of you guys (and chicks) are the greatest source of information :respect:, I bring it to all of you for advice. Obviously a build log will be done when this is undertaken.

(Also if you are in West Texas and are looking for a fulltime job for about 1-2 years let me know).

I have been a custom builder for ~15 years (think T-bird :D ) But this is my first network from the ground up. You guys rock and I am stoked to get to do this...but want to do it right...so lets start a list!!!

I will edit this first post as we go to compile the list. (Maybe a little sign in the window of the office saying "Network configured by TPU members". WOOHOO!!!

[DreamSeller]

so what you need is 3 desktops 3 laptops some xerox scaner printer combo's and a load of terabytes :D right? :<

[Mike0409]

Well from what it sound's like your upgrading your workstation's and your printers, to something newer, and adding a server. Are you going to be running a Domain Controller, or are currently? need some more info. :)

What about the network itself? The cables, are they CAT5e, or CAT5? You running Switch's or old hubs? Do you need to subnet your network into different networks?

[Dippyskoodlez]

Here is what I need. I need a server with enough HD space to store all the data, and enough juice under the hood for all workstations to access data without any lag time. I want to replace ALL of this, i.e new copiers/scanners, printers, workstations, laptops, etc. Obviously I will be building all of the workstations but for the laptops I am sick of Dells (thought the Vostro 1500s have been very good to us). New copiers run ~$10K each so that takes a CHUNK of the budget. I am looking for this to be upgradable in the future (I thought the 939 would do this...)

So basically I need 2 new copiers/scanners with network capability, 2 Dotmatrix printers, 2 Laser printers (I prefer HP), 1 server, 3 desktop workstations, 2 laptops, a new wireless router capable of handling all of this, and dual monitors for Workstation 1, and a BEEFY battery system for the server.


Get your printers first. Lasers, lasers, lasers. :p

Figure out how much you have left after doing the printers (FUCK HP LASERS IMO. Get -real- copiers.)

-1 server

How big are these files? It sounds like you have 650gb-ish currently?Is that enough? (i.e. Is it 99.99% full or like 75% full?) You need to have enough for the future files being added, but you also don't want to over do it (Ok, I guess this is less of a problem..). 10x 500gb drives isnt really necessary if you have like 800gb of data.



-3 workstations
-2 laptops

Are you upgrading these systems you currently have, or just adding to your network? 939 systems sound PLENTY fast enough to handle the workload that you are mentioning, if you are upgrading those..

Now if you're adding systems, that changes the budget a bit more too :p

-wireless router
Keep in mind, with a wireless router, comes security requirements. With a government network, you may have to meet specific requirements(FIND THESE.). Cisco is probably where you want to look, obviously.

-Backup
APC :)

[Jizzler]

I like to use Supermicro SuperServers. Case/rack + board + psu, along with the hotswap bays and fans. But before you jump in with a new server, what are you using for document management? Commercial package? Custom job? What I'm getting at is - will it scale on a new i7 server? Will it scale with a large amount of memory? Are there even enough queries/scans being performed to bog down the current server?

If data availability is of high importance, could think about two servers. Should be able to replicate any SQL based system fairly easy.

[JATownes]

Wow. Good responses. I think 4TB should be adequate for what we are preparing to do. I agree with real copiers. I am using Canon IR2200s now, but really need a pair of lasers for multiple printing jobs for my employees. The major issue is Dot-matrix. The Texas Dept of Insurance requires triple carbon checks for an Escrow Account. I hate do matrix printers and would love to get rid of them completely, but haven't figured out how to do multiple carbons without them.

I am completely replacing the entire network. The 939s have been great, but I would prefer something with a little more juice. Plus, we have go the $$$ from the grant, so why not.

For Backup you mention APC. Any specific suggestions for storing a large amount of data? I do daily backups on an external, and weekly backups on an external I store in a Safety Deposit Box.
The weekly backup needs to be compact enough to fit in the Deposit box, but the daily backup can be as big as it needs to.

I had a company out of El Paso (Group Bytesmith) write my imaging system software, so yes, it is custom. I will check with him on the scaling issue.

The current server is doing well, but get seriously bogged down when all 4 workstations are accessing images at the same time. I will look into the SuperServers...first time I have heard of them. Awesome advice. I am going to be looking into them.

BTW, I have shown this thread to our company president...she was initially concerned that I was getting advice from a forum, but after seeing your responses, she is thinking you guys (& girls as the case may be) are freakin AWESOME.

TPU FTW!!!

[Dippyskoodlez]

For Backup you mention APC. Any specific suggestions for storing a large amount of data? I do daily backups on an external, and weekly backups on an external I store in a Safety Deposit Box.
The weekly backup needs to be compact enough to fit in the Deposit box, but the daily backup can be as big as it needs to

I meant battery backup :p

Restarting a server after a power outage is NEVER fun.

Do you have performance logs over a week or so?

At school, we monitored daily, weekly, and monthly usage patterns to spot specifically what components were the bottlenecks...

Always seems during lunch the e-mail server decided to go slow... turns out just about 90% of the building decided to at once, because well, its lunch time.

If you're simply sharing files, CPU usage is probably fairly low, while HDD accesses are probably through the roof.

Important to allow extra performance where it counts ;D